Hello everyone…
Still in Syawal month and Eid Al Fitr ambience, I would like to once again extend my warmest greetings of Eid Mubarak for the big family of Local Guides who celebrate it, wherever ones are.
I am blessed to celebrate this auspicious occasion, Lebaran day (Indonesian term for Eid Al Fitr) with my big family. We gather in Jakarta this time, avoiding the crazy traffic of mudik, or the temporary exodus home. This is the first time we celebrate it back in Indonesia, after spending 2 years in Wellington, New Zealand. Usually, we go back home to Lampung to meet my mom and my family. But this time, we decide to stay in and get my family coming to Jakarta.
Beside celebrating the joy of achieving the victory of conquering ourselves, ditching all bad behaviour and multiplying good deeds during Ramadhan, we also celebrate our togetherness with delicious food. As you know, Eid Al Fitr is a special day celebrated with special cuisine. For sure, Indonesian special cuisines will adorn the celebration.
Previously, I have shared Sambal, Sop Kambing, and Sate Maranggi, for some traditional Indonesian food, offered during special time. This time, I’d like to share two recipes from my kitchen, Rendang. I also have Kari Ayam or Indonesian chicken curry recipe but perhaps, I will share on a different post.
I guess many of you know Rendang already. Rendang, Indonesian traditional spicy beef originated from West Sumatera or Minangkabau, was inaugurated as no. 1, the best food in the world by CNN travel, back in 2017. I guess the title continues till now, at least for me and my family . It’s super delicious and is commonly found at people’s dining table during Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha, two big celebrations for Muslims.
Rendang is famous for its rich flavour and juicy, tender beef,- the result of hours of cooking and shimmering the beef in its mixed Indonesian traditional herbs. Its taste, appearance, and aroma are so distinct and exquisite, many love to devour it to the last bit. The beauty of rendang also lies on its simplicity. You don’t have to do much to cook and I’ll soon share the ingredients and how to cook it.
Every year, my family and I cook Rendang for Lebaran day. We usually pair it with ketupat or rice cake, together with other lebaran cuisine like opor, kari ayam, sayur godog, sambal goreng ati, dendeng Cirebon and more. But this time, I will share 2 of the recipes mentioned above. Let’s cook!
Ingredients:
- 1 kg beef, usually topside or silverside part (tender and perfect for slow cook), diced about 3 cm or as desired (remember, the beef will be shrinking due to the cooking process).
- 2-3 stem lemon grass, cut into two big pieces, crushed the bottom part
- 3-4 pc fresh turmeric leaves
- 4-5 pc lime leaves
- 5 pc kaffir-lime leaves
- 1 big piece fresh coconut for its thick coconut milk (approximately 2L)
- 1 tsp salt or as desired (I usually add it at the last minute).
GROUND SPICES
Note: In Indonesia, we can buy the ‘premix’ fresh ground spices, especially in the traditional market. The instant package is also available, but better add fresh ingredients for extra flavour. Otherwise, you can prepare the ground spices yourself as well.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 250 g large red chillies (or more if you like it hot, as desired)
- 15 pc fresh shallots, peeled
- 8 gloves garlic, peeled
- 10 pieces of candle nuts, crushed
- 40 g fresh galangal (2 pieces like thumbnails), peeled and crushed
- 25 g fresh ginger, peeled, crushed
- 25 gr coriander powder
- Two pieces of tamarind, soak in 2 spoonful of warm water
Mix everything except tamarind, galangal and ginger, grind into paste.
Just a little note: Some recipes also uses cardamon, star anise, pepper and cumin to bring more flavour and aroma. Feel free to add them to your liking.
Again, everything in my recipe is like sort of a recommendation, so it’s adjustable. If you don’t like or can’t take hot and spicy food, you can always reduce the chilies or other herbs as well. I always believe that we all have different taste buds so feel free to adjust the recipe.
How to cook
- After preparing the beef, make sure you have all the spices blended/ground. As indicated above, put all spices, besides for the paste in a blender or food processor.
- Add a spoonful of vegetable oil to help the blending process then blend the spices until well mixed and smooth.
- Put the beef and spice paste into cooking pan or wok (feel free to use what you have, like large saucepan or in my case, pressure cooker. Make sure it is big enough to accommodate all the coconut milk and spices.
Note: I like super tender beef, so I usually cook the beef, added with water, crushed lemon grass, bay leaves and galangal, in pressure cooker first for about 30 minutes, before adding all the spices and coconut milk and start the slow cooking.
- Pour in the coconut milk, a bit of water and add the lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves and turmeric leaves. Mix well and stir.
- Cook it with medium-high heat first, until the coconut milk get boiled. Don’t forget to stir and mix it to avoid over burned.
- Then adjust the heat into low-medium (I usually use the lowest heat) and cook it for about 1.5 hours. Continue to stir and check it frequently to make sure it’s well mixed and not burned at the bottom. Please don’t leave it burned as it will completely ruin the taste and the aroma. You will see that the coconut milk will continue to boil and become thicker, oily and rich. The color will change as well and it gets darker and darker. Don’t forget to add the tamarind water and taste it. Don’t put too much salt as the cooking will continue and it tends to make it saltier and saltier.
- Cook until the beef and the spices becomes brown (or even dark, blackish brown) and dry. By the way, if you like ‘wet rendang’ or kalio (that’s what people usually call for rendang which are not cooked too long), you can stop the cooking process while the coconut milk is still abundant and runny. It’s already delicious as well. And juicy!
On a side note, I sometimes add potatoes and eggs on the rendang mixture. Usually, after the cooking process is almost done, I add them up so that I have non-meat choices to eat. Frankly, what’s delicious from Rendang for me is not the beef, but the spices. The rich favor resulted from the juicy beef broth and traditional, fresh spices. I haven’t really tried it but perhaps just using the potatoes and tofu on this can make a good vegetarian version, although without the beef, the taste will definitely be different.
In Indonesia, many restaurants sell Rendang as well. Some of the famous ones are the Padangnese restaurants like Sederhana, Natrabu, Pagi Sore and more. I have reviewed some of them and here’s one which is closed to my place.
And obviously put some photos there too, from my last visit to the restaurant.
So, what do you think of Rendang? You might want to try cooking it at home?
Feel free to do so and tell me if you have tried it.
Happy cooking and bon appetit.
